Cheetah
Legion of Doom Team Member Cheetah is a supervillain who wears a cheetah costume, and utilizes claws as weapons. She is a member of the Legion of Doom and Wonder Woman's arch-nemesis. __TOC__ Background Information Earth-1A Priscilla Rich (as revealed by E. Nelson Bridwell in the Super Fans section of the second issue of the SuperFriends Comic Book) is sort of a jekyll-hyde character. A wealthy and beautiful socialite, she was jealous of anyone more famous than herself. Her evil nature prevailed when she saw people paying more attention to Wonder Woman - so she turned a cheetah-skin rug into a costume and launched her criminal career as 'The Cheetah'. Blonde-haired and green-eyed, she sometimes seems almost like a human cat.See Super Friends (comic book): Super Friends, Vol. 1 #2 (December 1, 1976). Golden Age / Silver Age The Golden Age / Silver Age version of Priscilla Rich was a blonde Washington, D.C. debutante of aristocratic upbringing. Priscilla's life of privilege had bred an overwhelming inferiority complex. She eventually suffered a psychotic break after being eclipsed by Wonder Woman at a charity event. Priscilla retreated to her room and collapsed before her makeup mirror. There she saw an image of a woman dressed like a cheetah. "Horrors!" she cried, as she gazed at her evil inner self for the first time. "Don't you know me?" replied the reflection. "I am the REAL you — the Cheetah — a treacherous, relentless huntress!" The image commanded her to fashion a Cheetah costume from cheetah-skin rug. The refection went on to tell her that "From now on, when I command you, you shall go forth dressed like your TRUE self and do as I command you..." This second personality, unlike her more reserved self, was strong and violent. It poisoned Priscilla's mind, eventually turning her into a twisted, malevolent being. She hates Wonder Woman so much, she impersonates an American military official Kay Carlton, at an athletic competition between female athletes from America and a group of women trained on Paradise Island. Priscilla manages to kidnap Queen Hippolyta and steal her magical girdle. With Hippolyta as her hostage and her own abilities boosted by the girdle, Cheetah battles Wonder Woman for control of Paradise Island. She is defeated when the Amazon manages to pull the girdle off her. Temporarily freed from the Cheetah's influence, Priscilla asks to remain on Paradise Island until she can learn to control her split personality.As revealed in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #6 (Fall, 1943). Abilities *'Master Combatant' *'Sharp Claws:' Can pierce through metal * Acrobatics: Skilled Gymnast * Stealth * Dancing: The Cheetah was a masterful dancer and once impressed Wonder Woman, Etta Candy and her slave girls with the "Dance of the Cheetah". Wonder Woman, in a vain act to appeal to the Cheetah's better nature, applauded her ability, citing that her skill could attract millions of admirers.As revealed in [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Sensation_Comics_22 Sensation Comics, Vol. 1 #22] (October, 1943), which can be found at the [http://dc.wikia.com DC Database]. Legion of Doom Team Members Appearances Super Friends (comic book): #The Fury of the Super Foes (issue #1) #Trapped By the Super Foes (issue #2) ''SuperFriends'' Episodes: #Wanted: The SuperFriends #Invasion of the Fearians #The World's Deadliest Game #The Time Trap #Trial of the SuperFriends #Monolith of Evil #The Giants of Doom #Secret Origins of the SuperFriends #Revenge on Gorilla City #Swamp of the Living Dead #Conquerors of the Future #The Final Challenge #Fairy Tale of Doom #Doomsday #SuperFriends: Rest In Peace #History of Doom #Revenge of Doom Notes * Unlike her counterpart in the comic books, the Cheetah in the Superfriends episodes seems to be something other than an ordinary woman. In "Wanted: the Superfriends" Luthor creates multiple copies of Bizarro and Cheetah from ordinary people with his Mutation Device (implying that she is a mutant (as DC would put it, a "metahuman"). However, compare this to "Secret Origins of the Superfriends" where she needs the Legion's "radar-controlled bracelets" to overcome Diana. (Note that the latter episode refers to Cheetah's "cat-like skills" while showing her winning a contest on the parallel bars.) * The Pricilla Rich version of 'Cheetah' first appeared in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #6 (Fall, 1943).Go to [http://dc.wikia.com DC Database] for more on [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Wonder_Woman_Vol_1_6 Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #6] published in Fall, 1943. * Cheetah was created by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter. * There have been four different Cheetahs since the character's premiere: :*''Priscilla Rich'' (the Golden Age Cheetah) - 1943 :*''Deborah Domaine'' (the Bronze Age Cheetah) - 1980 :*''Barbara Ann Minerva'' (the Modern Age and current Cheetah) - 1987 :*''Sebastian Ballesteros'' (a male usurper who briefly assumed the role in 2001) External Links *See the [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Cheetah Cheetah Disambiguation Page] at the DC Database *See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah_%28comics%29 Cheetah] at wikipedia.org References Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Wonder Woman enemies Category:DC characters